OCZ Gladiator MAX CPU Cooler Review

FAN DESIGN

The fan that comes with the Gladiator is not the same as the one which graces the Vendetta 2 and this really is a shame as this fan is not even close to being in the same league as that Adda fan. This 7 bladed 120x120x25mm rifle bearing fan is made by Top Talent and to be more specific this is the DT1212MSHP(L) 120 mm low noise fan. This PWM capable fan is designed to run between 800 and 1500rpm and at its maximum nominal speed of 1500rpms it moves approximately 57 CFM of air. This is only an approximation as OCZ does not list this fan's specifications, and while Top Talent lists three versions of the DT1212 the slowest is 1700rpm with 64CFM. As for the static pressure it produces at its highest rated speed (this is once again only a rough “ball park” figure) it has about 1.5mm H20 of static pressure.


As mentioned before this fan is not the same one as found on the Vendetta 2 and even though it should be relatively quiet, it does produce a heck of a lot more noise and vibration than its specs would lead you to believe. Even during out simple finger spin test (where we spin the unplug fan with our finger) the amount of clickety-clacking coming from it reminded us of low quality fans produced years ago. This is not a good thing for a fan to do and we were even less impressed when we plugged it in and ran it at full speed.

This fan may use the same hybrid technology as used in the Vendetta 2’s Adda unit but it is not as refined or as well designed. On the positive side this is a tight fan that displayed very little slop so while it may be noisy and produce a very unique sound signature, one thing is for certain: it will keep on working and making all that noise for an awfully long time….or until you get annoyed with it and replace it with a better fan.

One interesting thing about it though is the Rifle Bearing used is a unique hybrid sleeve bearing design in which a normal sleeve bearing has been modified so that there is a continuous groove (that when looked at looks a lot like lands and groves of a “rifled” gun barrel) on the bearing shaft which keeps a constant flow of oil moving between the shaft and the bearing. While they may not be as quiet as normal sleeve bearings they do have a longer life expectancy. In this instance it may not be executed all that well but those rubber anti-vibration mounting plugs should for all intents and purposes stop any damaging vibrations from reaching the CPU and motherboard; thus negating most of the concerns we have with it.


Another interesting thing about this fan is that fact that it uses the newer 4 pin PWM header. This means that you can control it either by voltage or PWM. This is great if your motherboard supports it and if it doesn’t, and uses the older 3 pin header style you can simply let the extra pin out hang over the edge of the motherboard fan header without worry. Also on the positive side, the fans wires were not only nice and long, they were also fully sheathed. This may not seem like a big deal but this little tweak does make for a both a cleaner install but also helps keep air flow restrictions to a minimum.

Rather that rely on MTBF numbers, an easier and better way to get a “feel” for what the manufacturer thinks is the real length of time a product should last is to simply look at the length of warranty provided. The length of warranty has been calculated to be long enough so that customers feel secure in purchasing it BUT still short enough that it will be “out of warranty” when most fail. Taken for what it's worth, the Gladiator Max comes with a 2 year warranty.


Even when compared to the doubts we have about the heatsink design this fan truly has to be the lowest, least awe inspiring part of this cooler. This fan is noisy, annoying and is not anywhere near as good as the Vendetta 2’s. It seems that old adage that just because something is newer does not mean its better is once again proven correct. With all this negativity, please do not get us wrong; it is possible we got a bad one. Even the best Quality Assurance group in the world does miss the occasional bad apple, so maybe the fan included with your Gladiator Max will be a good one. When everything is said and done it is only a fan, and is thus easily replaced; and no matter how noisy a fan is, a free fan is still a free fan!